Yeah, let's use our Blackhawks for a secret plan to help Mexico fight the drug cartels. Our guys in Iraq don't need 'em.

Shhhh. It's on the down low:

Mexican President Felipe Calderon, locked in a bloody confrontation with drug cartels, is negotiating a massive counter-drug aid package with the Bush administration worth hundreds of millions of dollars, several officials say. Officials on both sides are working out the details of a package that resembles a U.S. aid plan for Colombia. The talks have been taking place quietly for several months...

Hey, it's cool, we're just helping out those who value us as good neighbors:

Mexican officials have been reluctant to go public with the discussions, mindful of anti-U.S. sentiments harbored by many Mexicans.

Okay, well, maybe it'll help us with that whole immigration issue somehow.

“If Calderon loses this battle,” says Roger Noriega [a former assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere and now with the American Enterprise Institute think tank], “then there will be no wall high enough to keep out Mexicans who are displaced by violence and by the security threat that undermines Mexico’s growth.”

Mexico's got a Wish List! And guess what's on it?

People familiar with the talks say Mexico drew up a list that included equipment, training and technology, including Black Hawk helicopters, which are difficult to come by given the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but are considered the transport of choice for security forces.

Do we even have the money to pull this thing off? Silly question.

It is not clear how the administration will request the funds from Congress, since the foreign operations spending bill for the coming year already has been approved by the House.

How to sell a bad idea to a wary public:

The Mexico package more likely will be cast as an effort to improve Mexico’s judicial system and its security forces.

Send Gonzo! He needs a little time away, and if anyone can screw up improve their judicial system, it's him.